Ebay Product Sourcing

Thousands of people daily make the plunge into starting an Ebay business. Once the garage is sold out and the flea markets are done, many people get stuck.

In order to increase to the rank of professional Ebay seller, you need to find a source of products to be bought at wholesale and retailed on Ebay.

We are exploring two very similar topics: dropshipping and wholesale product sourcing.

With dropshipping, you simply put up an auction and the supplier does all the shipping for you. It's a very low cost and easy way to get your business started.

Product sourcing is slightly different. With wholesale prodcuct sourcing, you buy a bulk order of the product from the wholesale supplier and then sell them on by one on the auctions and ship them yourself.

In order to make your business as profitable as possible, you need to find a product which will sell in sufficient quantities, as well as one which will provide you with a good mark up, in order for it to be truly profitable. Therefore, it is important that you try to determine what the demand for the product is, and also what competition, if any, there is for this particular product. Also, if you can, take a look at what your competition is charging for it. You may find that some businesses will have a much lower profit margin than others, including you.

It is best when first starting out selling products using dropshipping or product sourcing, that you only sell a select few. Plus, also that those that you do select are related, or can be targeted and sold to the same market set. It is important that you do not try to sell every product that you find, as this will help you concentrate more on marketing your goods, as well as keeping your own costs to a minimum. Plus, you are more likely to make an impact in the market place as well.

Due to its increased popularity, it is important that you find a reputable supplier for your business. Unfortunately, over recent months there have been many scams that have come to light in this particular industry. Avoid those people who are offering to sell you lists of dropshippers for 100's of dollars, unfortunately many of these are middlemen who are posing as dropshippers or wholesalers themselves, and will then charge much more than you actually should be paying. Remember, the whole idea of using dropshipping is to keep your costs down rather than raising them, but also still be able to make a profit at the end of the day.

Also, if you are able to, avoid the "turnkey" internet businesses which are willing to sell you a package of products, e-commerce and marketing for an exorbitant membership fee or charge you a monthly fee. These types of businesses, you will soon find, do not actually help, but rather hinder, and you will soon find that you are not making any profit whatsoever, while they are.

However, do not let what we have written above frighten you off, instead just be aware of these pitfalls. However, one of the best ways of finding a reputable dropshipper and wholesale supplier is through looking at such directories as "Chris Malta's Worldwide Brands". This provides you with a whole list of legitimate, as well as reputable, dropshippers that you may wish consider using.

Finally, it is important that you treat your business just like any other business, so do not spam people. Also, do not use either a personal or free web page address for your online store, and also ensure that you register the business with your County Clerk. It is also important that you register with the Tax office so that you have a Tax ID number and be prepared to file taxes each year.

As long as you start off by expecting that your business is going to make a decent profit, then the chances are that you will automatically see an increase in this.

Unfortunately, many people who do not really understand what dropshipping is about only see it as a way of getting rich quick. Because of this, there are plenty of people out there who are ready to exploit them. In this section, we will look more closely at the things you should consider before you decide to go ahead and set up an Ebay dropshipping business for yourself.

1. You need to carry out plenty of research with regard to dropship sources. It is best if you avoid using search engines when doing this, as they will also offer up a list of the less reputable companies around, as well as providing you with page upon page of links which are completely useless. However, once you have found a reputable source for the information that you require, and then the real work begins.

2. Avoid any companies which expect you to pay them an up front fee (membership or monthly). Also avoid those which offer you a fully featured dropshipping solution that provides you with a website and everything else that you need in order to get your business off the ground.

3. Ensure the dropshippers you are looking at require a valid wholesale certificate from you. You will gain this through a business license, so avoid any that don't have that requirement at all costs. Unfortunately, most of the companies which are willing to do business with an illegal business will usually be middlemen, who then send your order through to the wholesale company, and will end up taking a cut of the profits that you are trying to make.

The best way to find a legitimate dropshipping company is as follows:-

a. If you have seen a product which you are interested in selling, then contact the company producing it direct. Enquire if they have a dropshipping facility, and if they don't, then they are likely to be a light bulk seller. This means that they will only normally sell their products wholesale with a minimum of say around $200 or so (in many cases, the minimum number is much higher).

b. Another way is looking at such directories that have been set up and deal directly with legitimate dropshipping companies only. One such directory is Worldwide Brands. Such directories offer you an extensive searchable list of products, and which companies supply them. So if you are looking for a way to save yourself time in searching for good quality products to sell through your online business, then these directories are certainly the right way to go.

4. However, once you have found a company that does offer dropshipping facilities; you will need to get a valid reseller/wholesale certificate. Yet, what the exact requirements are in order for you to obtain this certificate will vary from state to state. But the minimum requirement for starting any dropshipping business online is that you have a business license.

5. Now you need to contact the dropshipping company in question and set up an account with them. Unfortunately, you may find that because your business is new, and you are not able to supply any references, then you may find that you need to set up a pre-paid account with them. Normally, this means that they will charge your purchases to a credit card instead of providing you with a line of credit. In order for this to be done, you will need to fill out a credit card form, an account application and provide them with your wholesale certificate. Once this has been received, they will then provide you with a wholesale catalog and anything else that you need in order to get your business up and running with their products.

6. Also, do not be fooled by those sites offering you a dropship directory for a fee (normally around $5 to $15). Unfortunately, these are normally copies of the more legitimate lists provided by reputable directories, and will often be out of date. So really, you are better off going to one of the more reputable directories and paying them a little extra in order to get a regularly updated list.

7. Now that you have found the product which you are interested in selling, and you have made arrangements with the dropshipper in question, it is time to get your site up and running, or your account set up with one of the more reputable auction sites, such as eBay.